Zombieland 2 Is Officially Happening with Original Cast

After months of speculation, it has finally been announced that Zombieland 2 is officially happening with the return of Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin. Venom director Ruben Fleischer, who also directed the first installment, is back on board to helm the sequel that fans have been waiting nearly a decade for. Original Zombieland writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese are back as well, hot off of the success of the Deadpool franchise. There have been teases and even rumors that Zombieland 2 had filmed in secret, but that obviously wasn’t the case.

Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have been giving slight hints about Zombieland 2 for years, but they’ve gotten more talkative about the project in the last few months. Wernick recently said that he was “sitting on information” and that he could not “share at this moment,” which sent fans into a frenzy. Wernick also revealed that he hoped to have production on the sequel begin in early 2019 in hopes to get Zombieland 2 out in time for the tenth anniversary of the first film, if it what was going to really happen.

While Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have been talking about Zombieland 2 quite a bit, this is the first official news that the project is moving forward with the original cast intact. Columbia Pictures president Sanford Panitch released a statement about the sequel and noted that nobody wanted the project to happen more than ” Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin.” Additionally, Panitch says that he’s excited to have Ruben Fleischer back on board to helm the highly anticipated sequel. He had this to say.

“This is one of those projects that fans have wanted to see happen for a long time – and no one wanted to see it happen more than Emma, Woody, Jesse, and Abigail. These are some of the most in-demand actors and I think they are making this movie because they love these characters. We are thrilled Ruben was willing to come back to direct the sequel, as his work on Venom has been truly amazing.”

Zombieland 2 will reportedly focus again on the “comic mayhem,” which will take the quartet from the White House to the American heartland as they face off against new types of zombies that have evolved in the nearly 10 years since the first film. There will also be some new human survivors in the sequel as well. The studio states that the movie will show that the characters will “have to face the growing pains of their own snarky, makeshift family.”

Zombieland 2 will begin filming in January of 2019 with an official release date of October 19th, 2019 to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Zombieland. Expect more casting announcements and news to drop in the coming months. After years of speculation, Zombieland 2 is officially happening and you can read the official announcement over at The Hollywood Reporter.